Questions For Oral Answer Wednesday, 16 June 1999

Questions are subject to change up till the time of asking. A summary of answers to the questions will be posted shortly after 3pm.

Question 1.

Hon. Dr Michael Cullen to the Minister responsible for Radio New Zealand Ltd.: Did Mr Rayner absent himself from board discussions, formal or informal, about the possibility of contracting out Radio New Zealand news services; if not, why has he not been dismissed from the board?

Question 2.

Alec Neill to the Treasurer: Has he received any recent reports indicating growth prospects; if so, what do they say?

Question 3.

Sandra Lee to the Minister of State Services: Has the State Services Commission issued any warning to senior civil servants about the necessity to avoid taking political positions on controversial issues; if so, what monitoring, if any, exists to ensure public servants remain non-partisan?

Question 4.

Rev. Ann Batten to the Minister of Health: Which organisation is responsible for investigating asbestos hazards in local communities, and why does it have that responsibility?

Question 5.

Hon. Phil Goff to the Minister of Corrections: When Marc Maurice was diagnosed as seriously unwell mentally and "unsuitable to be treated in a jail", why was he sent to Mt Eden Prison, where he died by suicide, rather than to the Mason Clinic?

Question 6.

Belinda Vernon to the Minister of Education: What reports has he received regarding the new professional standards and higher graduate salaries negotiated in the recently agreed secondary teachers' collective employment contract?

Question 7.

Hon. Brian Donnelly to the Minister of Education: How much did his Ministry pay for the contract for Chapman, Tunmer and Prochnow to research the effectiveness of reading recovery?

Question 8.

Trevor Mallard to the Minister for Tertiary Education: On what date was his predecessor first alerted to questions as to the suitability of the former chief executive of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and what actions did he take to remedy the situation?

Question 9.

Rodney Hide to the Minister of Revenue: Has he any concerns that IRD officers with hardened attitudes may be driving taxpayers to suicide by the over-vigorous pursuit of debt; if not, why not?

Question 10.

Hon. Annette King to the Minister of Health: As the findings of the Durham report show that 20 percent of Wellington people are not getting the x-rays they need because they cannot afford them, was the Health Funding Authority aware of this problem prior to the report's release; if so, why has no action been taken other than talking about it?

Question 11.

Gerry Brownlee to the Minister of Revenue: Has he received any reports from his department on its investigations into the business activities of Mr David Henderson, who has written a book highly critical of the IRD?

Question 12.

George Hawkins to the Prime Minister: As the Police Commissioner has said that "INCIS had no impact on the risk assessment ... which led them to advocate an end to the cuts" to non-sworn police numbers, why did she say to the House yesterday that the decision had been taken after "We have considered further the delays in INCIS and other matters"?

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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